


Kiss Me

by NellyHarrison



Category: Girl Meets World
Genre: F/M, Four plus One, Slight Spoilers from Tell Tale Tot, Slow Burn
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2015-05-31
Updated: 2015-05-31
Packaged: 2018-04-02 06:19:20
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,507
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/4049413
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/NellyHarrison/pseuds/NellyHarrison
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>The four times Josh kissed Maya on the cheek, and the one time he <i>really</i> kissed her, or the story of how Josh and Maya became <i>Josh and Maya</i>.</p>
            </blockquote>





	Kiss Me

**Author's Note:**

> Again, there are slight spoilers from Tell Tale Tot, just from the clips, pictures, and description that I've seen. Nothing too spoilery plot-wise. This is my first time writing Joshaya and in the GMW fandom, but I love this show and this relationship, and this plot popped into my head, so I couldn't resist. Enjoy!

After bringing the girls home and getting the expected Topanga and Cory Lecture and Life Advice, Josh agreed to walk Maya back to her place.  The train ride had been silent, Maya still a bit embarrassed by everything that had happened at NYU and Josh still thinking over what had been revealed.  All this time, he had just thought that Maya had a schoolgirl crush on him, but it was clear that it was more than that.  She wasn’t just a silly girl that liked him.  She was a young woman, and she had feelings that were very much real.

When they got to Maya’s home, she pulled out her keys and fiddled with them as they stood on the steps to her building.  “I can make my way up from here,” she told him, opening the door and biting the corner of her bottom lip slightly.  “Thanks for walking me home.”  With no sign that he was going to reply, she went to walk inside.

“Maya, wait,” Josh finally spoke up, grabbing the door before it closed and standing in the doorway.  “About tonight, I-”

“You don’t have to,” she assured him.

“No, I want to,” he replied, taking a deep breath.  “I’m sorry I never took your feelings for me seriously.  I always thought you were just Riley’s friend who had a crush, but I was wrong.  You’re different than I thought, and I’m sorry it took me this long to realize it.”

“It’s okay,” she promised.  “I’m just glad you finally realized it.”

He nodded, remaining quiet for a moment as his eyes glanced to the ground before he looked back up at her.  “You know that right now, I’m still too old for you, right?”

“Yeah I know,” she sighed softly.  “I’m still in it for the long game though.”

He chuckled at that, her smile matching his.  “Yeah, I figured as much.  Oddly, I’m okay with it,” he told her.  He stepped closer and leaned down to kiss her cheek, her eyes falling closed as he did so.  “The long game is better anyways.  Good night Maya.”

She opened her eyes to watching him walk down her stairs, a soft, peaceful smile on her lips.  “Night Josh.”  Maya practically floated up to her home, slipping into her bed with the same goofy smile and falling asleep to be met with wonderful, happy dreams.

* * *

High school had been a lot tougher than Maya thought it would be.  Between the peer pressure, the expectations (or lack thereof in her case), and the tougher subjects and teachers, the first three years had been stressful and rather life-changing.  She’d reached the end of her junior year, with prom that night and finals in a few weeks.  A few guys had asked her to prom, but in the end, she decided to go with Zay, who had become a pretty great friend to her over the years.  Farkle was going with his girlfriend Smackle, Lucas and Riley were going together as friends (they were currently off in their on-and-off relationship, but prom would probably change that), and that left her and Zay to round out the group.  Both could have easily gone with other people, but they decided it was better if they went with each other.

Riley, Smackle, and Maya had all gotten ready together, and the time had come to make their debut.  Smackle went first, then Riley, and Maya was the last to exit the bedroom.  Her mom and Shawn were there waiting for her, smiling proudly.  As she entered the room, people shifted and then she saw him.  Josh.  They’d seen each other a few times since he finally realized how she truly felt, and while those feelings hadn’t gone away, she’d come to accept that their time hadn’t come yet.

Maya quickly made the rounds, making sure to talk to her mom and Shawn for a bit before she walked up to Josh.  “Well isn’t this a surprise.”

“Is it?  You didn’t really think I’d miss two of my favorite girls going off to prom, did you?” he pointed out, smiling in that charming way that had her heart fluttering.

“I guess not,” she gave in, shrugging a shoulder.  She ran her hands down the skirt of her dress and held it out a bit as she asked, “How do I look?”

Josh exhaled before moving towards her and leaning down to kiss her cheek, in the same way he had years ago on her doorstep.  “You look perfect,” she whispered in her ear before pulling away.  She looked up at him in a mixture of awe and disbelief, with the usual expression of absolute adoration mixed in.

She opened her mouth to say something, but was quickly pulled away by Riley and Smackle, who insisted on taking some photos before they left for the prom.  Somewhere between her photo with the girls, showing off their corsages, and her solo photo with Zay, Josh seemed to slip out the door.  It left her confused and a bit frustrated, but she knew that she’d see him again soon.  She was looking forward to it.

* * *

Graduation day.  After four years of struggling through high school, she’d finally made it.  There had always been a part of her that didn’t think she’d make it to this day, but she had, and she was so, so grateful.  The ceremony had gone by agonizingly slowly, but that had been expected.  The speeches were somewhat decent, the best being Farkle’s valedictorian address.  Of course, she was a bit biased since he gave her and the rest of their friends a personal shoutout.

When it came to an end, she tossed her hat up and cheered with the rest of her classmates.  It was so exciting, finishing high school, and even more so knowing that she and her friends had all done it together.  Once she’d found and retrieved her cap, she went off to find her friends, running into Lucas first, then Farkle, until she finally found Riley, who she hugged tightly, tears welling in her eyes.  She wouldn’t have been able to do any of this without Riley Matthews, and she knew that even though they were heading to different colleges come fall, they would always be best friends.

Pulling away, she laughed when she saw that Riley was also crying slightly, and she reached up and brushed away her tears.  “I love you, honey.”

“I love you too, peaches,” she replied, wiping away the one tear that Maya had shed.  Behind Riley, she saw Katy and Shawn walking towards her, and she smiled brightly before rushing towards them and hugging them both.

“Maya, we’re so proud of you,” Shawn told her, kissing the top of her head as Katy rubbed her back.

“Thanks, Dad,” she muttered, holding onto them tightly.  It was still new for her to say, but Katy and Shawn had gotten married earlier that year, and it felt right being able to call him that.  Since she was in middle school, Shawn had become more of a father than her birth father ever had.  When they pulled away, Katy motioned behind her, and Maya turned to see Josh standing there.  She shot her parents a quick look, and as they walked away, she walked towards Josh.

“You did it,” he stated, smiling down at her.

She smiled back brightly and nodded.  “Yeah, I guess I did.  You as surprised as I am?”

“Nah,” he replied, shaking his head.  “I always knew you could do it.”  He opened his arms, and she walked into them, wrapping her arms around him tightly.  “You done good, Hart.”

“Thank you,” she sighed.  She pulled away a bit to look up at him.  “I’m going to Roger Williams next year.  It’s in Rhode Island.  I got a really great scholarship for architecture.”

“That’s great, Maya…  Why do you look like it’s not?”

“Because I was supposed to go to NYU,” she reminded him.  “I was supposed to go to NYU and you and I were supposed to be together.”

“Maya,” he sighed, pulling her back in for a hug.  “It’s the long game, right?  Think of this as part two.”

“What if you find someone better?  Someone closer to you?” she asked, biting the inside of her cheek.

He shook his head, then tilted his head to kiss her cheek, his lips lingering there for a moment.  “No one could compare to you, Maya Hart.”  Her eyes remained closed, a soft exhale escaping her at the promise his words held.  For so long, she’d waited for him to be ready to be with her, and now he was the one promising to wait.  When she opened her eyes, he was looking down at her with a fond smile.  “Congratulations, gorgeous.”  With that, he pulled away and went to congratulate Riley, leaving Maya standing in the same spot still in slight shock.   _Had that just happened?_

* * *

“Please tell me you’re joking.”

“Maya…”

She pushed him away and stormed towards the door, but he grabbed her arm and pulled her back.  “Why are you doing this?   _Why_ Josh?”

“Because this is what I want to do.  I’ve thought about it for a long time, and I’m ready.  I’m leaving for basic training in a few days,” he told her, pulling her closer and wrapping his arms around her shoulders.  “It’s only four years.  I’ll be back before you know it.”

“I’m graduating in three years.  We were supposed to be together in three years.  You said you’d wait for me,” she reminded him, finally wrapping her arms around him as she leaned her forehead against his chest.  “Four years could change a lot.”

“But it won’t change _us_ ,” he insisted, running a hand along the back of her head.  “I know I said I’d wait for you, but now we need to wait for each other.  Do you think it’ll be easy spending four years barely seeing you?”

“I guess not,” she muttered, sighing softly.  Tears began to well in her eyes as she squeezed him a bit tighter.  “I don’t want to do this without you.”

“You won’t have to.  You can write me, and we’ll keep in touch, and when I get back, if you still love me, then I’m yours,” he promised, reaching down to place a finger below her chin and make her look up at him.  “I hope you’ll still love me,” he admitted, smiling softly.

“Trust me, if I knew how to stop, I would have done it a while ago,” she joked, the first tear rolling down her cheek.  Instead of brushing away her tear, Josh leaned down and kissed it away, then rested his forehead against hers.  “Promise you’ll be safe?” she asked.

“I promise,” he whispered, pulling away and brushing the last remnants of her tear off her cheek.  “Promise you’ll write?”

“Every day,” she assured him, pulling away completely and shoving her hands into her pockets.  “I should go.  I, uh, have a paper I need to write for my Art History class.”

“Okay.  Take care of yourself, Hart.”

“You too, Matthews,” she replied, smiling sadly before walking out, her arms wrapping around her middle as a deep ache settled deep inside of her.  The next four years would be a challenge, and it would determine if they really were meant to be together or if Maya had wasted five years of her life on the wrong man.

* * *

When the plane landed at JFK, Josh couldn’t be more excited.  It had been four long years, but after serving his country, he felt like he had become someone worth being proud of.  He’d learned discipline, he’d learned the value of hard work, and he learned that people all over the world had it much harder than he did.  He liked the man who he’d become, but that wasn’t why he was excited.  After four years of writing back in forth, he was finally going to be able to be with Maya.  He didn’t realize how much she’d meant to him until he was across the world, missing her desperately.  He loved her, and if she was being truthful in their letters, she loved him back.  The rest of it, they’d figure out together.

Walking off the plane, he threw his bag over his shoulder and made his way towards the exit of the airport.  Surrounded by other arrivals, Josh looked around, hoping to see that flash of blonde curls.  A family walked towards the right, revealing her to him.  He smiled brightly as he saw her, and she smiled right back before taking off running towards him.  He dropped his bag and caught her before she jumped into his arms, totally oblivious to the people that were watching happily.

Without even thinking, Josh lifted his head, about to pull her down for a kiss, but she already beat him to it.  A kiss ten years in the making, it was the kind of kiss that they would remember for the rest of their lives.  People clapped around them, thinking they were lovers finally reunited, and in a way, they were right.  Josh and Maya hadn’t officially been together, but most legitimate couples hadn’t been through half of what they had been through.  The kiss they shared expressed their love for each other, the yearning they’d felt in their time apart, and the hope they had for their future together.  After a few moments, they pulled away, their breathing a little heavier as Josh lowered her onto the ground.

“Still love me?” he wondered, leaning his forehead against hers.

“More than ever,” she answered.  “Do _you_ love _me_?”

“Yes,” he replied, kissing her nose.  “I have for a long time now.”

“Yeah?” she asked, laughing softly.

“ _Oh_ yeah,” he promised.  They were still just standing in the middle of the airport, wrapped up in each other and not caring one bit about the people around them.  “Hey Maya?”

“Yes Josh?”

“Marry me.”

She shook her head slightly as she pulled away, looking up at him in shock.  “ _What_?”

“Marry me,” he repeated, reaching up and brushing a hand along her cheek.  He reached into his pocket and got on knee before her.  “I’m done waiting, and I think you are too.  I love you and I don’t want to spend another day without having you as mine, and without being yours.  We’ve reached the end of the long game.  So will you, Maya Penelope Hart, make me the happiest man on earth and marry me?”

Maya exhaled heavily, her mouth still open slightly in awe.  But she knew her answer.  “Yes, I’ll marry you,” she replied, laughing softly.  He easily slid the finger onto her finger and then lifted her into his arms.  “Best game ever,” she muttered before pressing her lips against his in another passionate kiss.  The only kiss that would top this one would be the one shared on their wedding day, after they were declared man and wife.

**Author's Note:**

> I hope you liked it! As always, feedback is welcomed and encouraged!


End file.
